


Mornings

by TheTimelessChild0



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Bed-Wetting, Desperation, Embarrassment, Friendship, Humor, Urination
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:07:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22806049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTimelessChild0/pseuds/TheTimelessChild0
Summary: Not all of the Doctor's memories of Gallifrey, were bitter or tragic. Some were just plainhumiliating.
Kudos: 11





	Mornings

For a man who would run for every conceivable reason, and bounce around the TARDIS the rest of the time, the Doctor was a remarkably heavy sleeper. The Doctor slept less than his human friend, but when he did, Donna would wake up before him. 

Usually, her first interaction with him, would be when she looked for him after she finished making breakfast. And usually, she would find him behind the toilet door. Being human, meant she didn’t find that particularly odd. Until it became more common. 

***

Donna, as usual, woke up early, and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. While she was using the toilet, she heard a knocking. 

“Just a minute, Doctor!” she replied. 

She heard a subtle whimpering coming from the Time Lord, and scrubbed her hands faster. Once she opened the door, she found the Doctor holding his legs together tightly, raising his foot slightly to squeeze further. He seemed pretty desperate. The noise he made once the door closed behind him confirmed this. 

Similar observations followed. The Doctor was frequently spotted running across the hall from his bedroom to the bathroom, not even spotting Donna in the 2 seconds it took to close one door and open another. 

One of these days, Donna decided to wait outside the door, even though she didn’t need to go. She was well aware of how often the Doctor peed. And he’d gone to the loo the day before. 

“Morning, Donna” the Doctor smiled awkwardly, leaving the door open for his companion, as usual. But this time, she didn’t enter. She stopped him from walking to the kitchen. 

“Didn’t you just go yesterday?” she asked him, curiously. 

“Did I..oh yes,” the Doctor blushed, which he didn’t usually do, while discussing his bodily functions. Not anymore, anyway. 

“That’s right. I forgot to tell you. Time Lords have this thing, to maintain a 24-hour cycle, and motivate hydration. Our bodies are primed to conserve enough water to make us urinate every morning, regardless of previous instances. It makes us more human, actually,” the Doctor grinned.

Donna shook her head, and followed the Time Lord. 

* * *

While the Doctor was fixing something on the TARDIS, Donna went to the library to check out a book on Gallifreyan biology. If this feature could end with dehydration if the Doctor didn’t sleep for a while because of imprisonment or worse, _poisoning_ , she needed to know. 

She flipped through the section on the urinary system. It mentioned the 4 kidneys, the 3 days, the limit of 24 hours, which explained how the Doctor could hold it for ages, if he was stubborn enough about the facilities in a prison cell. 

But, there was nothing about needing to go _every_ morning. Donna frowned. The Doctor wouldn’t lie. If it was because he drank something in the TARDIS which was a diuretic without thinking, he’d admit his mistake. If he’d had trouble peeing the day before, and kept it from her, he’d tell her that too, or maybe use the toilet next to the medbay to keep it from her until it was cured. There was a concerning reason why he just blatantly lied to her. 

Donna found the Doctor reading a fairy tale book in the living room. She sat down on the couch next to him. 

“How about telling me more about _this_ book?” she requested, pointing at the cover. 

The Doctor immediately started fiddling with his ear, hiding his nervousness. 

“Did the TARDIS not translate one of the pages?” he attempted to divert the conversation. The TARDIS made a noise like a skipping record. It could be compared to clearing one’s throat in protest. 

“You tell me. Which page is it that describes the morning pee thing?” Donna raised an eyebrow mischievously. 

The Doctor frantically looked around the room, trying to come up with a page number that didn’t exist. 

Donna interrupted his panic by putting a hand on his shoulder. 

  
“Doctor. What’s really going on?.. Why is that happening?” she looked at him with kind eyes. 

  
The Doctor turned completely red, but sighed in surrender. 

“It’s to do with my upbringing..my childhood,” he introduced, combing through his hair. 

Donna held his hand in support.

“Before you enter the Academy at 8, you go to this sort of boarding school, like nursery school and primary school rolled into one. In my case, I was sent far away from my family, into the middle of the desert at the age of 5. I presume your book mentions nocturnal enuresis?” he retold, scientifically. 

  
“Bed-wetting,” Donna nodded. 

  
The Doctor winced at her blunt phrasing. 

“It’s typical for a Time Tot to wet the bed until the age of 5. Our extended bladders make it easy for a child to plan their toilet visits ahead of time, including before bed,” he explained. 

  
“I, however, was not a typical Time Tot,” the Doctor admitted, rolling his eyes. 

  
Donna put her arm around him. “Well, those are some tough kids. You shouldn’t compare yourself to them,” she reassured him. 

  
“Even if I kept at it until I was _9_?” he asked, sceptically. 

  
“Even then, you’re 100 times bigger now,” Donna reminded him.   
  


“Tell that to my _bedsheets_ ,” he noted. 

“Don’t fuss about that again, it’s been ages,” she insisted. 

“Anyway, the teasing I got for being different, a wuss essentially..increased when the other boys found out. So, to hide it, I learned to clean the sheets together with some of my other clothes really early, every morning. This was back when I still needed to go once a day. With some careful planning, I timed my bladder to be full only in the morning. That way, I could still get some sleep at night,” the Doctor explained. 

“This schedule stayed with me, long after I left Gallifrey. I’d wake up and pee every morning. My bladder is big enough to save water in advance, that part wasn’t a lie. With Rose or Martha, I’d go during the night only, so when I did sleep, I woke up before them. Hence why Martha didn’t tell you. She never found out,” the Doctor shrugged.

“Aw..so that’s why. That’s really cute. You were a tough Time Lord even then. Figuring that out for yourself,” Donna complimented, massaging his neck. 

  
The Doctor began purring, feeling very safe with Donna, despite the mildly embarrassing conversation. 

  
“Well then, glad I know now. I’ll try to use my own bathroom from now on,” Donna promised. 

  
“You don’t have to do that,” the Doctor objected. 

  
“You had one whole _arm_ between your legs the other day, you run out of arms, you’ll run out of clean trousers,” Donna pointed out. 

The Doctor chuckled in agreement. Both laughed, as they went to get some hot chocolate.

The End.


End file.
